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2 Abraxas
as conceived by Crowley in 1919 (though never
carried out by him), in order to publish Thelemic
and related works.
The once secret practices of the magical order
Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO) revolved around sex
magic, which was taught in stages as the students
attained the eighth and ninth degrees of the
eleven-degree system. However, in the system
taught by the Abbey, a student who has reached
the Zelator grade is invited to participate in these
practices, which constitute the essence of the next
ring within the Abbey, known as the Sovereign
Penetralia of the Gnosis. Zelators are also invited
to join the Order of Thelemites.
Because the Abbey is a secret order, much of its
teachings and practices are not revealed to
nonmembers. The Abbey has about a hundred
members, scattered throughout the United States,
Canada, Greece, England, and Australia.
See also Crowley, Aleister; Magic and Magical
Groups
For Further Reading:
Melton,J.Gordon.Encyclopedia of American Religion.
5th ed. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1996.
Abraxas
Abraxas is a term associated with Gnosticism, an
ancient religious movement influencing Judaism,
Christianity, and contemporaneous paganism that
was prominent during the first few centuries of
the Common Era. Its central teaching was that this
world was the creation of an evil deity who had
trapped human spirits in the physical world. Our
true home is the absolute spirit, referred to as the
pleroma, to which we should seek to return.
Two distinct types of entities are associated
with Gnosticism: aeons and archons. The aeons
are the higher spiritual beings who reside in the
pleroma. The archons are the rulers, created by the
evil demiurge, who govern this world and who act
as guardians preventing the sparks of light (i.e.,
the divine essence of individual human beings)
from returning to the pleroma. Abraxas appears to
have originally referred to the Great Unknown out
of which the aeons and the pleroma itself
emerged. However, in later cabalistic thought,
Abraxas becomes the designation of the chief
aeon. Yet other ancient writers portrayed Abraxas
as a demon and/or as an archon who ruled other
archons. Abraxas was also associated with magic,
and was said to be the source of the familiar term
“abracadabra.”
See also Archon; Demons; Gnosticism
For Further Reading:
Davidson, Gustav. A Dictionary of Angels Including
the Fallen Angels. New York: Free Press, 1967.
Robinson, James M. The Nag Hammadi Library.
1977. New York: Harper & Row, 1981.
Adramelechk
Adramelechk, or “king of fire,” is mentioned in
traditional demonography as eighth of the ten
archdemons, as well as a great minister and chancellor
of the Order of the Fly, an infernal order
founded by Beelzebub. In rabbinic literature, it is
said that when he is conjured he manifests himself
in the form of a mule or a peacock. Adramelechk,
who has also been equated with the Babylonian
Anu and with the Ammonite Moloch, is
mentioned in various sources, such as in the
History of Magic, where Seligmann pictures him in
the shape of a horse; in 2 Kings, where he is
regarded as a god of the Sepharvite colony in
Samaria to whom children were sacrificed; and in
Milton’s Paradise Lost, where he is referred to as
both an idol of the Assyrians, and a fallen angel
overthrown by Uriel and Raphael in combat.
See also Demons; Milton, John
For Further Reading:
Davidson, Gustav. A Dictionary of Angels Including
the Fallen Angels. New York: The Free Press, 1967.
Seligmann, Kurt. The History of Magic. New York:
Pantheon, 1948.
Advertising
Although at first blush infernal images might not
seem appropriate for advertising, the Devil and
hell have been trivialized enough in modern
industrialized societies that advertisers feel free to
deploy such images—usually in a humorous
way—without having to be concerned about
consumers (even conservative Christians) associating
their product with evil. At the same time, the